


failsafe

by poseidon



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Amnesia, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Pre-Slash, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 09:29:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5492177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poseidon/pseuds/poseidon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Poe opens his mouth to speak and Finn punches him square in the jaw.</i>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finn wakes up and doesn't remember anything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	failsafe

Rey leaves. Finn doesn’t wake up.

Poe knows that he received significant damage to his back, that it will take a while for him to properly heal and be up and about again, but it doesn’t stop him from worrying. BB-8 keeps on insisting that they visit him every chance they get.

“We still got work to do, buddy,” Poe reminds it, but he still tags along with the droid.

Finn looks much better with each day, looking less pale and breathing more easily. Which helped Poe breathe easier as well.

"When he wakes up, we should give him a medal," the General says when she comes to check in on Finn's progress. "It's the least we can do, after what he's done for us."

"I'm sure he'd like it, ma'am," Poe says, "but I think being here, with us, helping fight the First Order - that's our show of appreciation."

She chuckles slightly, nodding. "That's insightful of you. And I agree; years of indoctrination and control, followed by choice to do the right thing. That's very rewarding." She looks down at Finn and said, "He'll still get a medal, though."

"Think I could get one too?" Poe asks, and laughs at the General's expression.

He's not serious, though - Finn deserves it far more than he does.

* * *

He's been grounded. Officially, because the Resistance doesn't want any of their pilots injured before they have enough to replace them. Unofficially, they think he needs a break.

Poe can see their reasoning - he'd been fighting and flying nonstop since he'd left for Jakku, not to mention the kidnapping and torture by the First Order.

But just because he'd sometimes have nightmares about his mind being ripped apart at the seams or a dark masked figure standing before him, prepared to kill him, it didn't mean he wasn't fit to fly, did it?

He tells this to BB-8, who beeps at him, which roughly translates to,  _That's not how it works_ , and Poe rolls his eyes fondly and goes back to making repairs to the ship. BB-8 rolls up beside him as he lies under the ship and adds, _You can see Finn every day._

Poe smiles and pats its side. “Yeah, you got a good point, buddy.”

* * *

A few more days pass and Finn still doesn’t wake up.

“I could give you the odds of his survival, but I have been repeatedly advised not to,” C3P0 tells him.

It fills Poe with less confidence.

* * *

A little over three weeks pass after Starkiller Base was destroyed, and Poe gets cleared to go on a supply run with Jessika.

“You sure you aren’t afraid to leave your boyfriend?” she asks.

“He’s healing, I’m sure it’ll be alright,” he responds. Then: “Also he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Sure he isn’t,” she winks at him and Poe can feel his face flush.

BB-8 doesn’t help by pointing out that Poe did give Finn his favorite jacket.

“What, it suits him,” Poe insists. BB-8 gives him a skeptical whir as he’s placed in the fighter, and Poe spends the rest of the mission wondering if Finn would mind if people thought they were in a relationship.

(He hopes he wouldn’t.)

* * *

Another supply mission later, and Poe is sitting in the infirmary again when, out of the corner of his eye, he sees Finn shift a little and let out a small groan.

Poe sits up and leans close, quickly gesturing the medical staff over. “Hey, buddy, back with us?”

Finn opens his eyes, slowly, and turns to Poe, who gives a small smile. _Finally_.

Poe opens his mouth to speak and Finn punches him square in the jaw, then in the stomach. All he can think of is _Ow!_ and _Kriff, Finn sure knows how to throw a punch,_ and he’s still doubled over in pain when the medics finally restrain Finn and sedate him.

Poe doesn’t leave until BB-8 nudges against his legs and forces him to walk away.

* * *

“Amnesia” is the verdict, according to the doctors. “He remembers nothing at all from beyond his deployment to Jakku.”

Poe licks his lips nervously and looks to the General as she asks, “Has his Stormtrooper conditioning returned?”

“No,” the doctor says. “He only attacked Dameron out of fear, not of malice or anger. But we’re unsure if it’ll be safe to let anyone visit him yet.”

“I want to go,” Poe says quickly.

General Organa raises a brow. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea…”

“Finn’s my friend, though,” he insists. “Please.” When no one looks like they’re going to let him, he says, “If not me, then BB-8 – they travelled together, maybe it’ll trigger some memories.”

The doctor takes a moment to consider it, before nodding. “Fine. BB-8, if you’ll come with me.”

BB-8 beeps at Poe, rubbing against his leg, as it goes to follow.

Poe bites his lip and looks to the General. “What are we going to tell Rey?”

* * *

They reach her after a couple of tries in the com-rom, and she sits stoically as General Organa tells her the news.

“I’m coming back,” she says.

“We have the situation under control,” the General assures her, but it doesn’t work.

“He’s my _friend_ ,” Rey says. “I _have_ to make sure he’s okay.”

“Rey,” Poe starts. His voice is still a little shaky and he has a large bruise on his face, and he knows that Rey must think Finn is in a terrible state, so he takes a deep breath and says, “We’ll make sure he gets better. Okay? He wouldn’t have wanted you to abandon your mission just for him.”

Rey lets out a sigh and is quiet for a moment. “He would’ve done it for me. And he would’ve done it for you.”

Poe doesn’t know how to respond to that.

* * *

“He’s responding well to BB-8,” the medical staff tells him. “He showed some recognition at the droid’s name.”

“That’s good,” Poe says with relief.

“He also wants you to know that he’s sorry for punching you.”

“Oh. Tell him… it’s okay.”

* * *

BB-8 goes back and forth between Finn and Poe for the next few days, detailing his recovery process as he slowly tries to remember.

_He wants to meet you,_ BB-8 reports one day.

“Really?” Poe asks.

The droid beeps and pushes his legs.

Poe chuckles a little. “Sorry, buddy, I got to finish these calibrations. Maybe tomorrow?”

BB-8 beeps some more and the next think he knows, he’s standing outside of Finn’s temporary room. “Seriously?” he sighs down at BB-8, who gives him the most innocent expression a droid can muster.

Poe rolls his eyes. _Can’t avoid it now_ , he thinks, knocking on the door before he enters.

Finn is sitting up in bed, carefully eating his lunch. He looks up and musters a smile. “Hey, it’s, uh, you. The guy I punched.”

Poe nods. He thinks of when he was last reunited with Finn and replies with a charming smile. “Yup, that’s me. Poe Dameron.”

“I’m really sorry about that,” Finn says.

“Nah, it’s fine,” he waves his hand dismissively and takes a seat on the edge of the bed. “How are you doing?”

“Better, I think,” Finn admits. He pushes the food around on his plate and shrugs. “Things come back in flashes, sometimes. I remember holding this – this laser-sword thing and I was all –” he gestures wildly and Poe breaks out in a grin trying not to laugh.

“Lightsaber,” he says. “That’s what it’s called. Rey has it – you remember her?”

“A little. She was with me and BB-8, right?”

“Yeah. The three of you met on Jakku.”

“Desert planet?”

“That’s the one.”

“We crashed there, didn’t we?”

Poe smiles again. “Yeah, we did.”

Finn smiles back, hesitantly, as Poe describes what happened before.

* * *

Finn starts remembering small details, little increments, nothing big, but enough for him to start piecing together what had happened before getting sliced by Kylo Ren at Starkiller Base.

Poe spends a lot of his time with him instead of calibrating weapons on his fighter. He doesn’t mind it, though.

“You gave me my name,” Finn says one day. “I remember that. We were on the TIE fighter and I told you my name was FN-2187 and you changed it to Finn.”

“That’s because your old name was a mouthful,” Poe tells him. “Too many numbers.”

Finn chuckles and looks at Poe with such gratitude. “Thanks, though.”

Poe feels something tight in his chest. “You’re welcome, buddy.”

* * *

It’s the middle of the night when BB-8 comes rushing into his room, beeping incessantly. Poe, still half-asleep, can barely make out what it’s trying to tell him.

“What’s wrong?” he yawns loudly.

BB-8 whirs and beckons him to follow. He doesn’t know where they’re going until they’re halfway there and he asks, “BB-8, is there something wrong with Finn?”

BB-8 beeps an affirmative and Poe swears a little under his breath, rushing forward and opening the door to Finn’s room without even a knock. “Finn!”

Finn is sitting up in bed, shaking and covered in sweat. Poe sits beside him and puts his hands gently on his shoulder.

“Finn, buddy, talk to me,” he whispers. “What’s wrong?”

Finn swallows hard. “Rey,” he manages to say. “She – she was – taken. By – by _him_.”

“She was, yeah,” Poe nods, “but then you rescued her. Remember that? You took her out of Starkiller Base, away from Kylo Ren, and brought her here.”

Finn doesn’t say anything, taking deep breaths, and Poe decides to keep talking. “I was kidnapped by Kylo Ren, too, and you rescued me then too. Remember that? You wanted to do the right thing?”

Finn shakes his head. “No, I… I needed a pilot.”

Poe laughs. “Yeah, you needed a pilot.”

They stay like that for a bit, until Finn’s breathing eases up. He clears his throat and asks, voice soft, “Would you mind… staying? Please?”

“Not at all,” Poe whispers.

It takes a small bit of maneuvering until Poe is pressed against Finn’s side, his chin touching Finn’s shoulder and his arm casually draped around his waist. “Well, this is surprisingly comfy.”

Finn lets out a small chuckle. “Yeah, it is.”

“Right, well,” Poe snuggles up a little towards him. “Goodnight, then?”

“Yeah, goodnight, Poe,” Finn hums and closes his eyes.

Poe listens to the sound of his steady, secure breathing and smiles as he falls asleep.


End file.
